NC State Leading Tennessee After Tight Races on Day One of Dual Meet; Jordan Crooks Shines Again
In one of the best dual meet clashes so far this college season, the NC State Wolfpack swim and dive teams have traveled west on Interstate 40 to Knoxville, Tenn., for a two-day competition against the Tennessee Volunteers. With one session, set to begin at 9 a.m. ET Saturday, still to go, NC State holds solid leads over Tennessee in the women’s meet (106.5 to 79.5) and men’s meet (114 to 72), but the meet has featured some incredibly close races and quick times already.
The Tennessee women’s team of Josephine Fuller, Mona McSharry Sara Stotler and Brooklyn Douthwright won the 400 medley relay in 3:34.48 after NC State’s top group was disqualified, and Tennessee then pulled off tight wins in the first two individual events. Kristen Stege went 9:49.34 in the 1000 freestyle, just over two seconds ahead of NC State’s Brooke Travis (9:51.50), and McSharry edged out Kylee Alons by just five hundredths in the 50 free, 22.63 to 22.68. Tennessee also got a win from Tanesha Lucoe in 3-meter diving (333.75).
But after those first three races, the momentum in the racing pool shifted toward the Wolfpack, who won all remaining swimming events. NC State freshman Kennedy Noble out-dueled Fuller in the 200 IM, 1:59.01 to 1:59.05, and Abby Arens won the 200 butterfly in 1:56.87. Katharine Berkoff, the two-time defending NCAA champion in the 100 backstroke, won the 100 free in 49.35. NC State’s Emma Muzzy touched out Tennessee’s Regan Rathwell in the 200 backstroke, 1:55.46 to 1:55.47, and Andrea Podmanikova swam a time of 2:10.93 in the 200 breaststroke, leaving her more than a second ahead of the Volunteers’ McSharry and NC State’s Heather Maccausland.
The team of Berkoff, Alons, Abbey Webb and Arens capped off the day with a dominant 200 free relay performance. The quartet posted a final time of 1:30.14.
On the men’s side, the meet opened with an epic showdown in the 400 medley relay. NC State’s team, led off by 100 back NCAA champion Kacper Stokowski and also featuring Giovanni Izzo, Nyls Korstanje and Luke Miller, finished just one hundredth ahead of the Tennessee squad of Harrison Lierz, Jarel Dillard, Jordan Crooks and Gui Caribe, 3:08.50 to 3:08.51. But in the very next race, NC State opened up a big lead when the Wolfpack finished 1-2-3-4 in the 1000 free, with Will Gallant leading the way at 9:00.97.
Crooks, who tied for third in the 50 free at NCAAs last year, already got his season off to a quick start with a 19.36 50 free at Tennessee’s first meet against UNC-Wilmington, and he matched that mark against NC State as he held off an impressive trio of Wolfpack swimmers: Quintin McCarty (19.44), David Curtiss (19.45) and Korstanje (19.58).
NC State freshman Michael Cotter won the 200 IM in 1:47.43 before Wolfpack teammate Noah Bowers went 1:45.67 for an easy win in the 200 fly. Stokowski also got a win in the 200 backstroke, where his mark of 1:44.53 was good enough to hold off teammate JT Ewing and the Volunteers’ Lierz. Tennesee got wins from Haribe in the 100 free (43.36), Dillard in the 200 breast (1:56.56) and Bryden Hattie in 1-meter diving (404.55). McCarty, Curtiss, Korstanje and Sam Hoover closed the session with a 1:17.54 victory in the 200 free relay.